Chicago: Meet the Janes
by Hidden Waterbird
Summary: Colonel William Jane is a trusted ally of the autobots and has done his best to keep this secret hidden from his teenage son Jason. 2 years after the attack on Chicago, William is called to duty to recover a fallen partner, leaving Sideswipe in the care of Jason. Join Jason as he unravels his fathers secrets and finds himself in the ultimate adventure that he may not survive.
1. Meet the Janes

"Jason."

"What."

"Dinner's ready."

"Ok give me a minute."

"Now Jason."

"One second."

"Jason."

"Ok I'm coming!"

The 15 year old dirty blonde headed boy sighed in ignorance as he threw down his game controller onto his bed and slunk off the side, trudging down the stairs as he grumbled a little to himself. He turned the corner into the kitchen and took seat at the kitchen table.

"No grumbling soldier."

Those words came from the mouth of retired Marine, Colonel William Jane as he stood facing the stove. Though retired, his Marine roots still pushed through in the domestic life of fatherhood. Jason rolled his eyes at the remark and picked up his fork, playing with a little, poking at the mildly sharp edges.

"Could you kill a guy with this?" Jason queried aloud, holding the fork and stabbing it lightly into the air. "I mean, if you tried hard enough, could you?"

His father cleared his through a little and picked up the pan from the stove, smiling a little at his handiwork and emptied the contents onto a serving dish on the kitchen table.

"Probably." He said simply as he discarded the pan into the sink. He eyed Jason, quickly noticing that curious gleam reflected in his body language.

"Dad." Jason began.

"Don't even think about it." William replied, taking a serving spoon and scooping the contents of the dish onto his son's plate. He then served his own.

"Uh." Jason murmured as he stared at the array of food on his plate. "What, exactly?"

"All the primary food groups." William responded in an absent minded manner. "No need to go into details. It's good for you."

Jason sighed and relaxed his shoulders a little as he used his fork to stab what he assumed was a vegetable. Squinting his eyes a little in anticipation he took a bite, expecting some repellent form of taste to flurry his tastebuds. Instead he felt warmth and a surprisingly good taste, knocking him back in stupefaction.

"This actually tastes kind of good." Jason remarked aloud. He had a tendency to speak his mind without realizing it. This 'talent' of his was a gift and a curse. In this case, a gift.

"I knew you would." His father replied in confidence. The man may not be the best domesticated father but he knew how to cook. He did start out as a cook on his ship after all.

"We all have to start somewhere." William mused quietly to himself about his past.

"Huh?"

William raised his eyebrow to the question, making an o shape with his mouth when he realized he'd spoken aloud. Like father like son.

"Oh." He said, running a hand through his brown hair. It felt coarse and his hand juddered slightly as his fingers slipped off the ends of his hairs. "Nothing." He ended up saying. Jason didn't know about his days as a cook, Jane was afraid that by telling his boy of his less than admirable past the excitement and curiosity of being a Marine would be diminished from Jason's imagination. The colonel knew he'd have to tell him eventually, but for know he'd keep it under the carpet. Sliding out of his thoughts Jane tuned back to the scene at hand and glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall.

"Jesus I didn't realize what time it was." he spoke aloud. "Jason, after you've eaten head off to bed, we have an early day tomorrow."

"Yeah." Jason groaned, leaning back in his chair. "Do I have to." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." Will replied reflexively. "Not up for discussion."

"But school's so boring." Jason complained in reply as he raised a hand in the air in exasperation. "Why can't I come with you to work?"

"Because you'd be just as bored. Being a Marine isn't all fancy gadgets and exciting missions. Every job has its paperwork."

"Yeah except school doesn't even have the option of fancy gadgets and exciting missions. Paperwork is all school is."

"Paperwork that will get you into the Marines." Jane countered. "Without that paperwork you can't go anywhere." Jane smirked as Jason rolled his eyes and leant his palm into the cup of his chin, leaning forward onto the table.

"Well maybe I don't want to be a Marine." Jason mumbled under his breath.

There was a slight tension in the air. As cliche as it was, Jason's father did suffer from 'pushing your own career as your child's only option syndrome.'

"You know how much we've been working for this." Jane countered. "Two more years and you'll be ready for admission."

"Whatever." Jane replied. He scrunched his brow in frustration, recounting the many times on the outcome of this discussion. Every time it was 'don't waste your efforts, we've put so much work into this, you'll be great.'

"Jason?"

The boy hung his head up slightly as the crease from his brow began to recline. Not much could be said. He knew what would come next. Jane would say goodnight and the next morning he'd push forward as if the issue had been resolved. From his fathers eyes he probably thinks it has. Jason released a breath he realized he'd been holding in for a moment. Maybe it was time to be honest.

"Uh." Jason started, straightening in his seat a little. "I need to tell you something."

Jane straightened in response, clearing his throat a little and pulled out a chair. "What's up." He asked as he took a seat. Jason couldn't figure out if his dad had figured out what he was going to say. He wasn't even sure what he was going to say.

The sound of a phone rang out, waking Jason a little from his nervous stupefaction. His dad moved to get up but Jason moved quicker, taking this as an opportunity to move on from the current choice of subject in conversation. He leaned over and unhooked the phone from the wall and pressed it to his ear, clearing his throat a little to answer whoever called.

"Hello?"


	2. The Girls

_"Hello?"_

No response. He could hear stifled muffling in the background and he scrunched his forehead a little in concentration in an effort to remotely understand anything that was being said.

"You Jane's boy?" The caller finally. Jason's stomach dropped a little at the deep, almost mournful tone of voice.

"Who wants to know?" He replied, caution evident in his response. By now his dad had taken to his side and motioned for him to put the caller on speaker. Jason nodded and switched the receiver onto speaker mode.

"Don't put me on speaker boy." The caller immediately said. Jason stood back a little in surprise as Jane frowned and rolled his eyes.

"What do you want Rev." His dad said, crossing his arms.

"Jane." The voice sounded relieved. "I don't go by Rev anymore. Its Victor now. Don't ask why."

"Ok, Victor." Jane said sarcastically. "What do you want."

"Its not good news William."

"Mate, you never call me by my first name unless -"

"The unthinkable happens." Victor cut in.

There was a dry silence in the air, leaving a unfamiliar tightness around Jason's chest as he felt his heart stutter slightly.

"He's gone Will. I'm sorry."

Jason jumped forward a little in an effort to support his dad who'd just stumbled back against the counter, a hand covering his forehead.

"Go to your room." Jane said quickly.

"But." Jason protested slightly in concern.

"Son. Now."

Jason eyes widened a little. The cracked tone in his fathers voice was words enough. He nodded to himself a little and turned on himself after handing the phone to his dad, slowing making his way upstairs. He stopped at the top of the stairs and seated quietly in an attempt to catch any more information. He could hardly hear the conversation but Jason felt like whatever it was, it was pretty serious.

Jane sat down again and pressed the phone to his ear.

"How." Was all he could say.

"Enemy airstrike." Victor replied. "He saved 5 of our own though and took out 2 of the enemy. He went out fighting."

Jane let out a long sigh as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "That doesn't surprise me. When is the send off."

Silence was the response this time and Jane sat up in his seat a little. "Rev."

"Victor." The man corrected. "And the send off won't exactly happen until we recover him. He's been missing since the commander saw him go down."

Jane was standing at this point and his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Wait so, its not definite?" The man pressed. A mild chuckle was heard on the other end.

"I knew you'd be like this." Victor said. "I know that the dead can't be confirmed until a physical exam but you should of seen him man. He was shot in the chest."

"But you haven't found him yet?"

Victor hesitated.

"No."

Jane grinned and bunched his free fist. "I knew he wasn't gone." He murmured, walking over the calendar stuck to the kitchen wall.

"When was the strike?" He pressed.

"3 days ago at Base Two." Victor said.

Jane pressed his lips together as he traced his hand along the dates on the calendar, working out the math in his head.

"If I leave now I can be there tomorrow at 1400 hours. Tell them I'm coming."

"William."

"Don't first name me mate. My partner is missing and I'm going to find him. See you in a few clicks."

Jane hung up the phone and swung out the kitchen door, jogging up the stairs. He strode past Jason's room and rolled his eyes when he saw the boy awkwardly sitting on the bed playing with his phone.

"How much did you hear." Jane said, crossing his arms.

"Enough." Jason said sheepishly. "Where are you going?"

"Out of town to visit base. You visited when you were about 5 years old, but I don't expect you to remember."

Jason cocked an eyebrow and followed his dad as he entered his own bedroom, grabbing a duffel bag.

"How long will you be gone?" Jason asked. He didn't want to press with too many questions but there was something different about his dad. Something seemed, energized.

"Hopefully only a few days. Two weeks at most." Jane replied, crouching down and pulling out a heavy looking metal case. He hoisted it up onto the bed and clicked it open. Jason's mouth dropped.

"Woah."

Jane's lips curled up a little as he pulled out the gun, tracing over the detail lightly with his finger. "Hey girl."

Jane replaced the gun back in the case and closed it. "Now." He said, brushing his hands against his pants. "We need to find someone for you to stay with. How about Auntie Sally?"

"What?" Jason exclaimed. "Dad, I'm 15. I'll be fine on my own."

Jane shook his head at Jason's scoff and swung the duffel bag over his shoulder, grabbing the metal case. "No dice kiddo." He said, leaning against the weight of his bags. "I don't know how long I'll be gone for and I won't be close by if something goes wrong."

Jason bristled a little at that. "Well how about you?" He said unhappily. "You're about to go off to some base after some attack and you expect me to be ok with that?"

Jane's eyes widened as Jason groaned in frustration and sat on the edge of the bed. "It's scary to see you go dad." He said quietly. "Because I don't know if you'll come back."

Jane dropped his bags and crouched beside his son.

"I will always come back for you." He said, the assurance clear in his eyes. "No man left behind."

The boy shrugged. "Besides." Jason resumed. "Auntie Sally smells weird."

Jane laughed and rustled the boys hair, standing up. "That I'll admit." He said chuckling a bit. Jason paused for a moment as he watched the determination in his son's eyes. It reminded him of himself.

"Ok." Jane said, holding up his hands in defeat. "You win."

"You mean." Jason said excitedly.

"You can stay here on your own." Jane said, his words cut off as Jason ran into him, throwing his arms around him in a massive hug.

"This is awesome thankyou so much dad." Jason bubbled. They released their hug and as his father went to pick up his bags Jason eyed the metal case again. "So," he said, cocking an eyebrow and nodding at the case. "Tell me about your 'girls.'"


	3. A Stranger and His Corvette

Jason stood in the doorway as he watched his father speed down the driveway and slowly out of sight. Jason grinned at the sound of the car horn in the distance and turned back inside the house. The door closed and Jason stretched his arms above his head. It was nearly 9pm and he was beat. Normally a night owl he'd stay up all hours of the evening but after seeing his father galavant off like that he was ready for a good nights sleep. Jason locked the doors and slowly trudged up the stairs, eventually finding the comfort of his bed. As Jason lay in the darkness, cocooned by his covers his mind buzzed with scenarios and ideas. Some were exhilarating, picturing his father a brave hero, against all odds saving the day. The other ones were not so enjoyable to think about. Those thoughts were the 'what ifs.' What if he never came back? What if he got injured? What if he came back completely different? Jason let out an exasperated sigh and turned over to his side.

"He'll be fine." Jason murmured to himself as he let his eyes relax. "Only a few weeks."

The dull sound of an alarm rang through the air and the boy underneath the covers shifted a little, still dead to the world. The alarms volume increased and he stirred, groaning a little at the annoying sound.

"Shut up." He murmured, snaking a hand out from the comfort of his bed and lazily hitting the top of the alarm clock. "Five more minutes."

Twenty minutes later Jason sat up in a panic. He grabbed his phone and cursed at the time.

"Crap."

He jumped out of bed and scrambled to change clothes. He'd nearly forgotten it was Monday already and Monday meant school. Jason cursed repeatedly as he gathered his schoolbag contents while brushing his teeth, not to mention changing clothes. He really didn't want his first day on his own in the house to be one where the principal would ring his father for tardiness. Toothbrush in mouth Jason shuffled into his shoes and spat out the toothpaste -ridden water in the sink then hooked his bag around his arm as he ran out the door. Jason slid down the banister and into the kitchen, eyeing for any breakfast that looked portable. A piece of fruit presented itself and Jason grabbed it half heartedly.

"Dad would of made me sit down for a full breakfast." He said aloud as he chewed on the apple. "Then he would of given me a lift to -" Jason cut himself off as he made it outside the front door.

"School."

Jason finished his sentence with a half open mouth full of apple as he eyed the Stingray parked in his driveway. A man leant against the side of the car, bearing a warm smile as Jason slowly shut the door behind him.

"Hi." The stranger said. "You must be Jason."

Jason stood on the porch of the house and frowned. The man looked to be in his mid to late 20's and had a relaxed ambience about him. Jason couldn't sense any hostility but then again there was a stranger with a corvette in his driveway.

"Who are you?" Jason said. The man made an o shape with his mouth and straightened up.

"Your dad didn't tell you about me?" The man said, sounding slightly suprised. Jason shook his head in response. "Well thats polite of him." The man grumbled. Jason's frown remained as he slowly stepped off the porch and walked past the man and his car.

"How'd this happen?" Jason asked, motioning to the car. The man turned in pride and patted the hood.

"Work perk I guess." He replied. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sideswipe. Sides for short."

Jason stared at the hand that had been extended out to him as part of the introduction. Hesitantly shaking his hand the boy crossed his arms hastily afterwards.

"Weird name." He said.

"More of a millitary name if that helps." Sideswipe said, shrugging. "Now. Lets get you to school."

Jason jumped back at the offer. "Woah, hang on." He said quickly. "I don't even know you. Why are you here?"

Sideswipe grinned. "Your dad asked me to drop by and check up on you. He said you'd probably sleep in and need a lift to school."

Jason shook his head. "How do I know you're not some creepy stalker?"

Sideswipe rolled his eyes and took out a cellphone. He dialled a number and held it to his ear in wait for a response.

"Hey Jane its Sides. Yeah, I'm here but your kid is being a bit stubborn."

"Hey." Jason warned.

Sideswipe eye him as he spoke on the phone. Then he held the phone out to Jason. "Its your dad."

Jason hesitantly took the phone off Sideswipe and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey kiddo."

Jason sighed in relief at the sound of his fathers voice.

"He dad." He said. "Are you ok? Did you get to base ok?"

"I'm not there yet. Still a few clicks to go. I hear you've just met one of my comrades."

"Comrades?" Jason said, looking at Sideswipe. "But you've never spoken of them before."

"Maybe not by their names but you've certainly heard of them."

Jason's mouth twisted in curiosity. "So." He resumed. "This guys ok?"

"He's the only guy I'd trust enough to look after you."

Jason heard Jane curse under his breath as his heart dropped. "Look after me?" Jason grumbled. "You said I could be on my own."

"Yeah I know I said that." Jane hastily said. "But Sides is here to serve as your transport. He'll drive you to and from school and thats it. Besides that you'll be completely alone."

"Da-d."

"If I know he's there making sure you're safe then thats all that matters." Jane's tone of voice sounded off to Jason.

"Are you ok dad?" Jason asked cautiously. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sides folded arms fall to his side.

"Yeah, fine." The man replied. "Just please give Sides a chance ok?"

Jason turned to face the stranger and cocked a weary brow at the forced grin that Sides was giving him.

"Fine." He said quietly, rolling his eyes a little at the satisfied look in Sideswipes face.

"Thanks kiddo." His dad said. "You're really putting your old man at ease here."

"Just promise me one thing."

"Alright."

Jason paused. Then he took a deep breath. "Just come back soon. Ok?"

There was silence.

"Ok."


	4. Small Talk

Small words were exchanged and Jason farewelled his father on the phone. Handing it back to Sides, he stood back, eyes drooling over the car as the man spoke to his dad.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry." Sides said quietly. He saw Jason looking at him. "Adios Will."

Jason's eyes widened as Sides hung up and lounged over the the drivers door.

"You called my dad by his first name." Jason said, slightly bewildered. Sides chuckled.

"Your dad and I go way back kiddo." He said, opening the drivers door and climbing inside.

_Kiddo_

The term rang inside Jason's head as he opened the passenger door. Taking his seat and swinging his legs inside the car Jason's eyes dripped with awe as he took in the interior of the car. Leather lined seats with technology as far as the eye could see.

"What model is this?" Jason exclaimed, brushing his fingers across the dash. Sides shuddered slightly and Jason gave him an odd look.

"Its a custom job." He said proudly, distracting Jason from the odd shudder from just a moment ago. "Chevrolet Corvette Stingray."

Jason smiled in impression at the car. "Clamshell hood, scissor-style doors.." He murmured. "This car is everything. How high is its hybrid drive performance?"

Sideswipe scoffed. "Out of this world."

Leaving the boy to gawk a little longer, Sideswipe started the engine, its sound music to his passengers ears. They pulled out of the driveway and were off. Jason spent the first five minutes of the drive fiddling with his surroundings, even so far as to attempt to use the touch controls on the dash.

"Watch it kiddo." Sides warned, "Fiddle with the wrong button and it won't end well. Besides, how do you know so much about cars?"

"An old hobby of mine." Jason replied absentmindedly. "When we used to live with my uncle he'd show me how to dismantle a car and put it back together again. He knew everything there was to know about cars." His mind drifted as he spotted an interesting looking button on the control panel screen.

"What does this do?" Jason pressed curiously, pressing against the screen and jumping as the car blared with music.

"RADIO." Sideswipe yelled. "TURN IT OFF."

"WHAT?" Jason asked loudly, attempting to find the same button that'd stop the music. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

"I SAID." Sideswipe reached over and pressed his finger against the screen cutting the music out as quickly as it turned on. "Turn it off."

Needless to say the next few minutes were sufficiently awkward for the duo as they journeyed through traffic and suburbs. Conversation began once again as Jason gave directions to his school, aware of the odd looks he was getting by his fellow travelers. It wasn't everyday that a car like what he was sitting in rolled through this kind of town.

"Uh," Jason said, clearing this throat. "My schools just up ahead. You can drop me here if you like."

"No worries I'll just drive past the entrance and drop you there." Sideswipe offered.

"No offense, Mr Sides but I think it'd be better for the both of us if you dropped me here. Your car isn't exactly something that this town sees often not to mention my classmates will go nuts if they see me with it."

Sideswipe nodded slightly. "Agreed. I'll pull over here."

Sides pulled the car over to the curb and Jason popped the door open. He hesitated slightly before getting out, then turned to lean back into the car.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Sides replied.

"How did you and my dad meet?"

"Thats sort of a long story kiddo. We met through a mission 2 years ago."

"In Chicago?"

There was a brief silence and Sideswipe felt the unease.

"Yeah." He said. "Why?"

"No reason." Jason said quietly. "Anyway, thanks for the lift. See you later."

"Want me to pick you up after school?"

"No thanks. I'll catch a lift with my friend."

Sides eyebrows raised. "Friend?"

"Max." Jason said casually. "We've known each other since we were kids. It'll be fine."

Sideswipe didn't manage to get another word in as Jason had already shut the door and waved his goodbye.

Will hung up the phone with a sigh, relieved to hear that Sideswipe was with his son.

"Colonel Jane."

Will turned round and saw Agent Mearing standing with crossed arms and a disapproving look on her face.

"You know this is risky."

"Yeah." Will said, pushing the cellphone inside his back pocket. " I just need to make sure he's ok. Since Chicago, things have been a little tense."

Not much was said after that. Mearing nodded slightly and took her glasses off, inspecting them a little for grime. "I understand Colonel that you and your family have been through hell and back in this war." She placed her glasses back on and stared directly at the man. "But I will not take responsibility if your babysitter gets himself exposed."

"He won't."

Both humans looked up to see Optimus Prime, towering over them and their conversation. "Sideswipe is a brave warrior. He will not let his guard down nor will he expose our secret any further than it already is."

Jane smiled. "Thanks Optimus."

Mearing rolled her eyes and turned away from the pair. "Whatever you say Prime. I'll leave you two lovebirds be now."

"M'am?" Jane spluttered.

"Do I look like a m'am to you?" She quipped, waltzing away with a sass in her stride. Jane looked back at the towering leader.

"Love. Birds?" Optimus repeated in question.

"Ignore her." Jane said, chuckling a little. "Thankyou though sir, I really appreciate the help. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him."

Optimus narrowed his eyes at the thought. He highly valued their humans allies, especially since the attack on Chicago. Families of those allies were no exception. Optimus knew of Jane's son Jason but he'd hasn't had the pleasure of meeting him. As a precaution, allies of the autobots are sworn to secrecy.

"I have heard much about your child, Colonel." Optimus rumbled. "He sounds like an honorable warrior."

"Yeah." Jane murmured. "I still beat myself up about it though. "We nearly lost him that day."

**Next chapter will be a flashback. Stay tuned (:**


End file.
